No Matter What
by RodianSinger
Summary: Just a quick drabble that takes place directly after the events of "Mirror Mirror". Mostly fluff but may be the bridge to a future story.


Christine hugged herself, staring out the thick acrylic window at the blackness of space and pondering the strange events of that day.

What she knew only amounted to rumour gathered from the ship's grapevine, but it chilled her even more than the absolute zero of outer space could have. Four officers, including Dr McCoy and the Captain himself had been the victims of a bizarre transporter accident while retuning from the Halcyon home world.

She'd been on the labs all afternoon and hadn't encountered any of their...doubles?...opposites? ...she wasn't sure what to call them, but she'd heard a great deal about them. According to the information she gleaned from crew members who'd had contact with them, they'd been nearly identical to the officers they'd replaced. Nearly, but not completely.

They'd been from another world, another universe entirely, at least that was the theory. A place where everything was the same but altered slightly from the society that they knew. As though there were some insoluble connection between their two dimensions which had kept them parallel to one another from the time of the big bang and would persist through the events of the present and continue on to the end of time itself, keeping them perfectly in synch but as polar opposites.

At least that was what she'd heard. Doctor McCoy had told her all about his experiences on the other ship. Everyone had had a doppelganger Spock, Sulu, Chekov, right down to the crewmen in the lower levels. An exact duplicate of their Enterprise and it's crew.

And although he hadn't met her, he also said he suspected there was another Christine.

This was the revelation that disturbed her the most. The thought that there was another her out there somewhere. Separated from her by some quirk of inter dimensional existence, but present nonetheless. Idly she wondered if the other Christine was at all like she was. What had driven her into Starfleet, where she came from, what her day to day life was like. It made her uncomfortable to speculate on a being so intimately connected to her despite the fact that they had never met, and yet she couldn't help but wonder all the same.

She heard the hissing sound of the pneumatic door opening behind her and tensed briefly before she recognized the presence that had entered the room.

"Commander Spock?" She said, relaxing.

He came up behind her pulling her back against his chest, his arms going around her in an uncharacteristically possessive manner. They were quiet for a moment before his deep voice broke the silence.

"Things will be very different from now on Christine." He said gravely, his arms tightening almost imperceptibly.

"I know." She said. This was one aspect of recent events that she was all too aware of.

He finally released her, moving so that they were facing each other. "You may not be entirely safe anymore."

She knew he was right. As Spock's woman, she was a valuable hostage, especially with Kirk still occupying the Captain's chair. Of course, he had been stripped down, made into a figure head for Spock to manipulate from his position as first officer, but this made him all the more dangerous. It was almost certain that he would not go down without a fight, and when the time came, he would find officers willing to rally to his cause.

Spock had control of the Enterprise, but his position was more precarious than it had ever been. He would have to keep a constant eye on Captain Kirk and strive to stay one step ahead of him. But it was not his own safety that he was concerned about.

"I'm not afraid". Christine insisted, not breaking his gaze. Anything he could handle, she could.

"Please understand." He continued one hand coming up to touch her face. "If anything were to happen to you..."

She silenced him with her own hand. Mirroring his actions, she traced his beard. "I know". She said. He was the only thing that made life on this ship bearable for her, and she for him. She couldn't bear to leave, both for her sake and his. "I'd rather die here than be safe elsewhere. Besides, I have Zahn to look after me". She gestured to the young Vulcan security officer who'd been assigned to protect her. He was standing at attention with his hands behind his back, ignored by them as they talked.

"Yes." Spock replied with a trace of humour in his voice.

"Anyways, I'm not in any more danger than before". She continued. "You had your enemies then, just like you do now".

"That is hardly reassuring". He replied, although she did have a point. Everyone on the ship wanted to be Captain, which meant that at some point they would have to go through the First Officer to do so. But he hadn't brought it up to start an argument.

"As long as you are aware of the danger of the situation". He said. "I simply wanted you to have a choice in the matter. I will not leave you helpless with circumstances the way they are."

She was touched by his thoughtfulness. Not many women (or men for that matter) could boast this kind of devotion from their partners on board ship. She had suffered through her fair share of brutal unfeeling-ed arrangements with various officers before she'd found her home with Spock. But she'd always known that what they shared was different from any relationship she'd experienced before.

"I've appropriated the Captain's quarters." He informed her, abruptly changing the subject. "Our things are being moved as we speak. There is something there that I need to show you". He directed her towards the door, describing the device which the other Kirk had claimed would make him invincible.

A new era was dawning, not only for them, but for the Empire. She felt his fierce protectiveness of her through the bond that they shared and trusted him completely as she knew he trusted her. On this ship where trust was a valuable and hard-won luxury that so many could not afford it was comforting to know that whatever tomorrow brought, they would face it together.

No matter what.


End file.
